Ayutthaya

A Brief History of Ayutthaya

Founded in 1351 by Prince U Thong, Ayutthaya quickly became an influential city, overtaking the small kingdoms then scattered throughout the region, and in particular its rival further north. SukhothaiU Thong probably did not know at the time that his initiative would give birth to one of the most powerful kingdoms in Southeast Asia, which persists to this day, first as the Kingdom of Siam, then under its current name, Thailand.

Yet his destiny was far from predetermined. Born into a Chinese merchant family in Chiang Saen, in what was then the Lanna kingdom, U Thong rose to prominence through his business acumen, eventually ruling the city of Phetchaburi, southwest of Bangkok. Thanks to his family connections, he married a daughter of the ruling family of Suphanburi and forged alliances with the kingdom of Lopburi, two important cities, one west and the other east of what would become Ayutthaya.

Shortly after the founding of his capital, U Thong was crowned king, taking the dynastic name Ramathibodi I, marking the birth of a new kingdom. Ayutthaya quickly absorbed the then-declining kingdom of Sukhothai, which is still considered the first capital of what would become Thailand.

It would therefore play a major role in the history of the region, becoming a flourishing center of trade in Southeast Asia.

Between the 14th and 18th centuries, the kingdom of Ayutthaya established important trade relations with its neighbors, notably China, India and the Malay world. From 1511The Portuguese established a trading post there, marking the beginning of contacts with Europe.

In the 17th century, emissaries of Louis XIV They were sent to Ayutthaya, and the French also began trading with the city. Accounts from contemporary travelers describe a prosperous city, from which they returned impressed by its wealth.

At its peak, the city — known by its full name of Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya — would have nearly a million inhabitants and would be home to more than 1,500 temples, making it one of the largest urban areas in the world.

However, Ayutthaya aroused the covetousness of its neighbors, and its dominance was regularly challenged by attacks from neighboring Burma. As early as 1569, the city was severely damaged, and the kingdom briefly became a vassal of the Burmese for 20 years until King Naresuan regained control in 1590.

Regaining its independence, a fragile peace settled in for nearly two centuries, marking the city's golden age. But from the second half of the 18th century, the Burmese army returned to the attack: Ayutthaya was besieged and then finally devastated in 1767.

Faced with this massive destruction and the persistent threat, the kingdom of Siam, under the rule of a new sovereign and a new (short-lived) dynasty, is forced to move its capital further south, in Thonburi, before it was transferred a few years later to Bangkok, with the advent of (yet another) new dynasty.